 Tuesday, Sept 23, 2014
Google “exorcism photos” and the above is mostly what you’ll get; bizarre and stereotypical images of casting out demons. Ask most Christians what they think about deliverance and you’ll get equally strange answers. When the topic of demons comes up, the devil has done a good idea of getting people to engage in what’s known in philosophy as “hasty generalization.” It’s the fallacy of faulty conclusions reached by inductive generalization, ideas based on insufficient evidence and quick judgments. Hasty generalization can result from basing opinions on inaccurate samplings and a small amount of information. The result is conclusions that are sloppily reached, ill-informed, and often based on prejudice.
Deliverance and exorcism suffer from this philosophical fallacy. Real deliverance is seldom what you see above and almost never what is depicted in movies. At its best, it is thoughtful, introspective, compassionate, caring, empathetic, and pain-staking. It takes time, much prayer, careful listening, and often prolonged battles. It involves physical and emotional healing before the demons are confronted. It results in changed lives that turn from destructive to productive. Marriages are restored. Addictions are broken. Relationships are healed. Deep emotional pain is expunged. The next time you hear a pastor or layperson dis deliverance, call them out on their “hasty generalizations” and fight back with truth against the exor-phobic (I just invented a new word.) blindness of ill-informed critics. An encouraging word: STOP DOING EVIL Jeremiah voiced a sarcastic word from the Lord in chapter three, verse 4-5: Have you not just called to me “My Father, my friend” . . . but you do all the evil you can. That retort could be as easily aimed at our world today as it was ancient Israel. Too many want to appear religious without actually being religious. They say they are Christians and that they are saved, and yet they indulge in things which are outright evil. The way they talk and act gives little evidence of a spiritually surrendered life. Don’t be like that. If you call him “Father and friend” then quit the sins that contradict your claim to Christianity.
Bob Larson has trained healing and deliverance teams all over the world to set the captives free and Do What Jesus Did� (Luke 4:18). You can partner with Bob and support this vision to demonstrate God’s power in action by calling 303-980-1511 or clicking here to donate online. |
